Originally Posted by davethedave

On Sat, 19 Nov 2011 11:33:40 -0800, SB wrote:

Today is Saturday and I have have been walking the streets of London
doing Xmas shopping along with thousands of others. But I live here;
most of the others are tourists. However London is very bad this year -
there are too many cyclists without lights, riding on the pavements, and
jumping the red lights. I used to be a keen cyclist having been brought
up with National Cycling Proficiency at school, and at least reading the
Highway Code. I WAS a keen cyclist - but now no more.

And now-a-days I am gob-smacked at the selfishness of modern cyclists.
This afternoon alone I have nearly been knocked over 5 times by cyclists
without lights jumping the red traffic lights - when they have been
green for me as a pedestrian. If I shout out after they just miss
knocking me over all I get told is "fcuk off!" Nice, This reduces my
sympathy for cyclists to zero.

Unsurprisingly.


But the latest outrage are the tourists on Borris Bikes. They don't give
a damn. They haven't a clue how to ride a bike properly, and frequently
ride the wrong way down a one way road if they are not also on the
pavement. Almost everyday I start to cross a one-way street only to
nearly collide with a Borris Bike being ridden the wrong way along it -
the direction from which I DO NOT expect anything to be coming.

Expect the unexpected. If you had got your Tufty Club road crossing
qualifications as well as your cycling proficiency Certificate you
would know you need to look both ways when crossing the road for
just the exact same reasons you describe.

Just recently there have been two unfortunate deaths of cyclists in
London (there are probably many more every month), but it is very hard
to have any sympathy for them when it seems that the majority of
cyclists haven't any concern about mowing pedestrians down, going the
wrong way along one-way streets, cycling on pavements, cycling without
lights and wearing dark clothes (how stupid is that), and telling me to
"fcuk off" for being in their way.

Bzzzzzt! Repetition. You seem to have a pot of tar and only one brush.
--
davethedave